Technology has been something our generation has grown up around and used in almost every aspect of our lives. It can become very helpful in researching a subject, finding the right professor, sharing pictures with family, locating the nearest gas station, or simply catching up with friends. Computers in schools have become widely used and various electronic devices have appeared in almost every school age group. The recent changes in the education system to prepare students to succeed in our increasingly connected and global community have had a positive effect in many school systems, however, technology must remain a tool in learning and not the primary mode of education.

Many people encourage the use of technology in the schooling system and see it as an asset in preparing students for personal use in our currently global-connected community, create diverse lesson plans, keep them engaged, and break the mold of traditional learning styles.

The opposite end of the argument claims that the use of technology should become limited because technology can never replace traditional teaching towards a good education and because there’s a lack of proof that technology adds significant value to a child’s education.

Public schools in the United States “...provided at least one computer for every five students” and “spend more than $3 billion per year on digital content”(Herold, 2016). These spending include digital lessons in math, english, science, business, and fine arts. The “transition to digital instructional materials is happening slowly” but more and more classrooms have begun adopting a more connected way of learning (Herold, 2016). Teachers have started largely using technology in class to prepare students for our very connected community through something called a flipped classroom. This newly popular approach includes online lecture videos for students to watch and complete homework on and then a discussion that the teacher will conduct in class. The flipped classroom has started appearing in many of the school systems and may replace the traditional style of teaching forever.

This approach allowing students to go at their own pace has resulted in better performance and a large grade boost (Saxena, 2013).

Since material has become so heavily focused on individualization, a student will now be given the ability to review information as many times as needed, skip over easy information, and use different modes of learning - visual, audio, and lecture - to adequately gain knowledge.

According to the article on Educational Leadership titled “Why Use Technology” by Kyle Peck and Denise Dorricott, there are three stages of educational learning to go through using technology. The stages, stated by John Naisbitt from Megatrends, starts with technology heavily incorporated by following the “line of least resistance”. This basically means that using technology will require the least amount of effort, therefore it becomes an important part of the classroom for efficiency reasons. During the second stage, users improve and replace previous technology with newer versions. And finally, in stage three, the classrooms discover new functions for technology based on the potential they can reach. The authors state that once you enter in stage three, many reasons become presented as to why technology should continue to prevail in all classes. First and foremost, students can learn at their own pace, as seen in the flipped classroom. There are differences in every student and each one tends to develop at different rates, so having online instructional material can help individualize every student’s learning. Using technology helps develop typing, accessing, evaluating, researching, and communication skills at an early age, which will allow students to become proficient in these abilities, making them more marketable as graduates.

Technology can also increase the quantity and quality of student writing and thinking, help guide them to complete complex problems, and encourage artistic expression. Giving students the opportunity to immerse themselves in global news through technology, leads to meaningful work and makes students comfortable with all the tools used normally in this age of advanced technology.

Finally students will have access to higher level interest courses their schools may not have the funds or resources to run individually, which will, overall, increase productivity and efficiency in the classroom (Peck & Dorricott, 1994). All the reasons discussed above will help with the transition into a largely technological and interconnected society.

If schools took out technology completely, students would still learn, but may not become adequately prepared for the advanced use of electronics in our modern society.

“Why is it that schools rumble along virtually unchanged by the presence of computers? As D'Ignazio (1993) describes it, businesses have been building electronic highways while education has been creating an electronic dirt road. And sometimes on a dirt road, it’s just as easy to get out and walk.” (Peck & Dorricott, 1994).

Looking at the quote above shows just how critical the use of technology has become in the workplace in order to function, making it a must-have in every office space. Even though technology may not become an integral part in the overall learning process, the inclusion of it in education will lead to a smooth transition into whatever line of work a student may enter. “Teachers can build strong, productive relationships with students. Technologies can't. Teachers can motivate students to love learning. Technologies can't. Teachers can identify and meet students' emotional needs. Technologies can't. Technology-based solutions in education can, and must, free the teacher to do the important work that requires human interaction, continuous evaluation, and improvement of the learning environment.” (Peck & Dorricott, 1994). Technology provides another outlet of learning that does not replace the teacher, but give him or her the opportunity to address student needs that a computer cannot meet.